Baby and Child First Aid Rapped Up

I remember when my son was younger he was poorly with a sore throat and cold. I was doing all the correct things like administering medicine regularly, keeping his fluid intake up and offering food for him when he wanted it.

I thought I would give him a little chocolate treat and gave him a little bag of Maltesers, well that was a big mistake.

The next thing I knew he was choking on it, he had got one of the Maltesers stuck in his throat, he couldn’t speak, he was trying to tell me what the problem was but I thought he was trying to tell me he was going to be sick. So I ran him to the bathroom but he was still trying to tell me something. He started to go a funny colour, then at that moment I realised he had got something stuck in his throat.

The first thing I did was to pick him up and tip him upside down and hit his back (not the correct thing to do) however after a short time the soggy Malteser came shooting out of him.

It gave me the shock of my life, he had never choked like that before and it really scared me. Only then did I look into what I should have done and to learn some basic child first aid.

Do you know what to do with a choking child?

The British Red Cross have created a fantastic app for baby and child first aid advice, it is aimed to be informative, educational and empowering.

‘Give up to five back blows. Hit them firmly on their back between the shoulder blades. If back blows do not dislodge the object, move on to step two.’

‘Give up to five abdominal thrusts. Hold the child around the waist and pull upwards and inwards above their belly button. If abdominal thrusts do not dislodge the object, repeat steps one and two’

‘Call 999 if the object has not dislodged after three cycles of back blows and abdominal thrusts.’

I have now downloaded it onto my phone and can sit down and spend 5 minutes learning about all the different things I need to know about first aid. I am hoping I don’t have to call upon my knowledge again but at least I now know how to deal with the situation should it arise.

However the first aid app doesn’t just tell you about major first aid, it helps you with smaller first aid situations, like fevers and nosebleeds. Although the smaller things can turn into an emergency so the first aid app will help you decide when you need to call for help.

What I really like is the first aid app has videos and animations to show you how to do emergency procedures, the choking one shows me just how to do the abdominal thrust.

This app is fantastic for learning what you need to do but if you are looking at a more hands on approach you can book a first aid course to attend. I was really surprised to see how easily accessible these courses were, I had two near me held every month.

I also love that the first aid app has a section to help prepare your house, surroundings and days out for children. It has a fantastic checklist for all the different ways you can make sure you are prepared for everything!

Do you know what…..I have only just made up a first aid kit for the car and I feel so much happier knowing I have a little supply of items in the car IF we need them.

The British Red Cross have created some fun videos to gain more interest in first aid…….I think these videos are going to gain some attention don’t you?!